FlirtKissSmirk
by Timothyology
Summary: Sleep. All Gwen wanted was sleep, all Kevin wanted was Ben. What does Ben want?
1. Party

**Disclaimer: Like all other stories on fanfictiondotnet, this fic is covered by the disclaimer explaining that I in no way make any profits off of this story...and do not own Ben10 and Ben 10: Alien Force, or it's characters. **

_Okay guys, so it's been quite a bit since I've written anything Ben10 related, but, seeing as it's my second favorite fandom EVER, I decided to post what i had started of a chaptered fic. Short and sweet, but more to come. ALSO, I'm in need of a beta for this story and possibly another. If anyone is interested just leave me a message or review this story saying so. I've already got another chapter ready, I'm just waiting for someone to proof read it. Thanks!_

* * *

"Keeeevvvvvv" A slurring and stumbling Ben wrapped his arms around his teammate-turned-lover and began to nibble lightly on the mutants neck.

"Ben." Kevin whispered, his voice dangerously low. He rubbed the brunettes back in an attempt to "comfort" him. After Ben's recent break up with Julie, he had thrown himself a pity party at his parents and invited thirty or so of his closest friends. How was he supposed to know that ten would turn into fifty by midnight? Had there been fifty? He must've been counting them all twice…he was far too drunk for this.

"Come on, Benji, let go. We'll shoo these kids out and turn in for the night, just the two of us, yeah?"

Ben shot his boyfr- partn- (what were they, now?) impromptu roomie a pitiful look and Kevin took charge, taking Ben by the hand and leading him inside, to his room.

"Stay here, kid. I'll be up as soon as I get everyone out of here." Kevin soothed as he lowered Ben onto his bed and made his way back downstairs.

How did this always happen? One minute Kevin was hard, cold, almost as metallic as the substances that he so frequently took hold of. (Sometimes Ben wondered if the older boy absorbed more than just the feel and invulnerability of the small spheres that Gwen had once gifted him with…maybe he took their properties in more way than one.) And other times, like tonight, Kevin showed Ben a side that so few people would even dare to believe existed.

Ben thought that he just might love Kevin.

Ben also thought that this might just be the alcohol talking.

* * *

"How is he?" Gwen's voice surprised the brute…he'd thought that Cash and JT were the last ones to leave.

"He's fine; drunk."

Gwen's eyes narrowed.

"Give him whatever he wants, Kevin…and next time, don't you hesitate with him in public; you know that he hates that!"

"Yeah, but-' Kevin protested.

"No buts. Julie and Ben are through. All that's standing in the way of the two of you now is you. You may be dense, but even I can see that you two have had a thing for each other for months."

Kevin blanched and back away slightly.

"Yeah…I guess so." Kevin admitted, although grudgingly.

Gwen left it at that and made the trek back to her car alone. _After all_, Kevin thought, _she doesn't need protecting_.

As Kevin reentered Ben's room he noticed that the young hero had already stripped himself of most of his clothing and was now lying on his side, curled into a tight ball and snoring lightly.

Kevin smiled.

This was _his_ Ben. His.

It was then that Kevin thought that he just might be in love.

Kevin also thought that that might just be Gwen talking.


	2. To Sleep, perchance to Dream

**Thank you guys for all of the favorite story + and alerts! I still haven't found a suitable beta for this story, but I thought I'd go ahead and upload the second chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Kevin had stripped himself of his shirt and that pair of old, too-worn, dark wash jeans hours ago and was now laying under a lightly snoring Ben Tennyson.

Kevin chuckled a bit when he overheard his name fall from Ben's mumbling lips and wrapped a protective arm around the sleeping boy, his other hand already preoccupied with stroking the brunette locks.

Kevin liked it this way; calm and sincere. Nothing was expected of him.

It had been like this for two weeks now. Over the years, Kevin had turned into an insomniac. Whether it was caused by all of the energy he had absorbed all those years ago, the paranoia that he had wracked up in the Null Void, or the nightly 3am alien attacks in Bellwood and its surrounding areas, he still wasn't sure. It didn't really bother him much anymore…he had Ben to comfort him now, even if the boy didn't yet know it.

Kevin had developed a habit of laying with Ben until sunrise, dislodging himself from the heavily sleeping teen, and leaving quietly to wait in his car until Ben woke up.

The little sleep Kevin got had been futile; nothing helped him calm his nerves anymore except for Ben. For Kevin knew that while the sun was up, Gwen, Ben and him would go back to the same conversations, the same arguments.

For a fleeting second, Kevin mused staying till Ben woke this morning…or, better yet, waking the younger boy himself.

* * *

Gwen stared tiredly at the ceiling as she prayed for sleep to come. It had been this way for weeks; for almost a month, the only sleep that Gwen could find was during Woman's Studies and her lunch period, and even that had been a bit futile.

The truth was, Gwen didn't want to sleep.

Every time the redhead so much as closed her eyes, visions of a grim future, tortures, the deaths of men, women, and children alike would come to the forefront of her mind.

At first she had assumed that it was some sort of message, a vision of the future that she, alongside Ben and Kevin, could change. Now, no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't figure it out. It was driving her _insane_. She didn't know if it was the stress of getting into a good school, the recent 3am alien attacks on Bellwood and the surrounding areas, or just some strange psychic connection to her cousins current relationship-related turmoil that had kept her dreaming of such things. Whatever it was, Gwen longed for it to cease.

She had briefly contemplated telling the rest of the team, but she could already see where that conversation would lead; another argument.

Gwen sighed and sat straight up, her alarm clock coming into view.

4:30am.

Gwen would just have to face it head on. She wouldn't wait until the others woke; today she would wake them.

* * *

As Gwen Pulled up to the curb on the cul-de-sac, (she liked to park somewhat away from Ben's house, in case Ben's parent happened to catch on to Ben's Alien Fighting friends visiting at all hours of the day and night) she noted that Kevin's car was still parked quite badly in it's usual spot.

Gwen smirked.

Making sure that there were no early morning onlookers, Gwen formed neon-pink mana steps that led up to her sleeping cousins window. She peeked in and saw Kevin, laying half-naked with Ben and messing in his hair. Gwen was overcome with joy.

She proceeded to unlatch the small window and climb through, holding her hands up in surrender as she entered.

"It's only me!" Gwen laughed lightly as she noted the hard look that had suddenly made it's way across Kevin's features. He relaxed back into Ben.

"What's up?" Kevin asked, his voice just barely a whisper.

"Don't' worry, you won't wake him that easily. I…I need to talk to you. Both of you."

"Kay" Kevin nodded, "Just don't start talkin' until he's offa me."

Kevin started to separated himself from Ben with the grace and nimbleness of a man half his size and Gwen frowned slightly. Why on Earth was he doing t-

"Kevin." Gwen started suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Does he know that you're here? That you've been here before?"

"Uh….no. Wait a sec, how can you tell?" Kevin asked defensively.

"Well, it's only that you just moved Ben in his sleep and he didn't even stir. He may be immune to loud noises while he's dreaming, but not touches, no matter how light." Gwen finished, now furrowing her brow. This was all too strange.

Kevin blushed deeply and hoped that Gwen wouldn't notice under the cover of the twilight.

"Yeah, well…I can't sleep, and I need _something_ to do in my spare time." Kevin managed to sound slightly bored, but Gwen could swear she heard a faint hint of fondness laced in his words. Gwen ignored it.

"Right. Well, I suppose we're in the same boat here, then. Wake Ben."


	3. Voided

**Notes and Such: Hey guys! Sorry for the really short chapters...it just kinda makes the updates come faster. That and I'm working on this, a collection of Ben10-related drabbles, a new Taito story (digimon!) and 2 chaptered Harry Potter fics (I fear that House Politics may be dying...Going Soft, however, is gettin along well...now if only I would update it!) I suppose I thought that the BeVin pairing didn't have enough angst (puleeease) and so I wrote this. I hope you're enjoying! Please reveiw!**

* * *

As Kevin sat out on the roof of the Tennyson residence, he puffed away at a cigarette and tried to ignore the muffled voices coming from within.

"Damn", he muttered, rubbing his temples in a tired fashion.

He took another drag.

"I knew none of this was a good idea from the start…shoulda just-

"What's not a good idea?" asked a slightly higher voice, still groggy from his unceremonious morning wake-up.

Kevin smiled openly as Ben settled himself next to him, dangling his feet over the gutters and leaning heavily into the older boy's side. "Nothing…what's up with Gwen?" Kevin wriggled a bit, and tried his best to look uninterested in the sudden contact. They both knew better.

Ben hesitated.

"We're…not sure, really. She's having nightmares; visions of some pretty gruesome things. She can't sleep." Ben sounded miserable now.

Kevin resisted the urge to add a 'that makes two of us' as he took the last, long drag of his Marlboro No.27, and lit another one with his free arm; he wrapped the other one around Ben's midsection. Ben snuggled into the contact and sighed contentedly.

"Boys." Gwen announced her presence and took her place at Kevin's side.

"These dreams…are they- um- real?" Kevin mentally slapped himself for stuttering.

"How very eloquent." Ben threw in.

"No. At least, I don't think they are. If they were happening in real time, as they came to me, the whole world would be a nuclear wasteland right about now." Gwen propped her head up on her palms as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Sleep.

Stress.

"How about-

"The future? No." Gwen shut Kevin down, and, for the first time since they met, she didn't seem pleased to do so.

Kevin gave a noncommittal grunt and blew lazy smoke rings in the air before flicking away the still-lit cigarette. He draped his last free arm around the female Tennyson's slight shoulders and brought her close.

When he had gotten so good at this comforting thing?

"We'll figure something out." Kevin offered a small smile and left it at that.

* * *

The following Monday, the trio decided to skip out on their respective responsibilities- school, work, tutoring- in order to search for some answers. Sunday had been used as a recovery for the night before, and the three had spent the time pretty much on their own, the one exception being when Kevin brought Ben a surprise, comfort smoothie. Kevin really was sweet when he wanted to be.

Kevin had revealed his sleeping deficiency in his short visit as Ben slurped lazily at his pineapple-ginger treat, frowning the whole time.

"Why didn't you say anything beforehand, like, this morning?" Ben looked angry then, but Kevin knew it was only because the young hero carried so much weight on his shoulders already. The taller boy knew that he would only be bothering him with his problems.

So, with Kevin and Gwen's similar confessions in the open, Ben took it upon himself, as the leader of their makeshift team, to make a visit to the Null Void, and Grandpa Max.


	4. The Missing Revelations

**Notes and Such:** Hello, again, everybody! Sorry for the recent delay, it's just a lot happening in the real world here. I've been working on the musical West Side Story for about three weeks with almost nightly rehearsals, followed by work. Also, my family dog passed away a few days back and I've been slightly distraught. At any rate, this part isn't completely finished...or at least, not to my liking, but I thought I'd post just to let you know that I AM still alive, and that I AM still writing. I'll just tack on whatever else didn't get in this chapter to the next.

**Also**! It would be nice if, in reviewing, you guys would write more than just "Good job", "I love it", or "Write more", or any variation of those three. Reviews are for me and other readers to hear what you have to say about the story...so if you have nothing to say at all (one of the three aforementioned templates), please don't bother reviewing; it is kind of insulting that all you would have to say to me, after apparently liking my writing, is to "write more now".

Without further ado!

* * *

Kevin Ethan Levin loved his car.

It wasn't just a car; it was…well, it was more than _just_ a car. The 1970 Dodge Challenger was a symbol of Kevin's freedom; from the Null Void and from his past. He couldn't help it if every once in a while he decided to stay home and work on his baby…it was a hell of a lot more rewarding that anything that he ever did down at The Garage. It was almost meditative.

Once, while alone, Gwen had asked Kevin outright if the color of his 'baby' was symbolic of anything. Kevin laughed and turned down the radio a bit.

"No."

"Kevin…don't tell me you haven't noticed.." Gwen shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Kevin's black eyes bore down on her.

"Gwen, what are you goin' on about?" Gwen could tell that Kevin was starting to get irritated; it was almost impossible for the brute to keep his temper in check.

"Well…Kevin, your car is the exact same color- the _exact_ same color as Ben's eyes." Gwen stammered, suddenly much more interested in her lap than the hulking boy beside her.

Kevin blinked.

"No…" Kevin turned back to the road.

"It's not."

Gwen's eyes went unusually wide as she searched her mind for the proper response.

"I couldn't get the right color…it looked perfect when I mixed it, but this car used to be black, so it dried just a bit darker." Kevin frowned. "Cheap paint."

- - - - -

Kevin had just finished waxing and detailing when he heard the phone.

_Tennyson._

_Well…one of em' at least._

"Speak," Kevin commanded, switching on the speaker phone and flopping down in the drivers seat.

"Kevin! I'm so glad you picked up, it's Ben, I'm not sure what exact -

"Slow down there, Gwen! What happened to em?" Kevin tried to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible, but even he could tell it wasn't working.

He heard Gwen take a deep breath.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you 'don't know'?"

"Sandra just called asking if he was with me. Apparently, Ben's school called home asking about his attendance, but…

"But what?!" Kevin was losing his battle and his patience, fast.

"Ben never called me. He never showed up. He's just…-

"Gone." Kevin finished, a cynical note in his voice.

"You at home?" Kevin asked as he slammed the car door shut.

"Yes, but-

"Stay there. I'll be around in a sec." Kevin had already started the car before Gwen hung up the phone.

-----

As he drove, a million thoughts raced through Kevin's head; a million different situations. At the end of every one, a different, gruesome death.

Kevin shook his head at these.

_Ben knows how to take care of himself. Whoever, or whatever, has him won't get very far…._

He had been becoming increasingly protective over the young hero ever since they became…well, whatever it is that they were now. After the night on Ben's roof, Gwen had insisted that Kevin stay beside the boy, that maybe all Kevin needed was Ben to put him back to sleep, but Kevin had a sneaking suspicion that Gwen knew all too well what Kevin really wanted out of his relationship with Ben. And to be honest, Kevin wanted just that; a relationship.

Even as kids, Kevin looked at then Ben Ten as someone that he wanted to keep safe; a younger brother. Even after their falling out, and Kevin's unintentional switch to the 'dark side', just looking at the xenomorph had stirred such a fiery rage in him that there was nothing to quell it but to fight. But now that Kevin was old enough to understand what those feelings really were that stirred Kevin to passion, he was much more intent on keeping an eye on the boy.

The First time that he kissed Ben, it was completely by accident...well, that's what he liked to think. They were always close, but until Ben's 15th birthday party and that other time at Coopers sleepover...well, it didn't matter, how it happened, but that it had, in fact, happened.

Kevin pressed his lips closed around, a just as surprised, Ben's.

He tasted good.

Hell, even that was an understatement. He tasted incredible. Exactly how Kevin had imagined he would. He wove his arms tightly around the younger, drawing him even closer; he needed him closer. Both boys were already stripped of their shirts, neither feeling the need to sleep in them, hot as it was, and Ben was practically his own personal power source, radiating heat like a human generator. It felt like an eternity before they parted, both sweating and sated, but quite eager to try that again. They stared.

Ben had continually been the one to make the first move after that. Always when they were in public, but, much to Kevin's dismay, never alone. Like that night at the party…

-----

Kevin came to a screeching stop in front of Gwen's driveway, slightly relieved to see her already waiting outside. As Gwen settled herself in the passenger seat, Kevin took note of just how fast she was walking, how nervous she looked.

"This isn't like him," Gwen said after a while.

"No; it isn't. Ben may be an idiot, but he's not stupid." Kevin said gruffly.

"Ye….what? Nevermind. I tried tracking him earlier using some clothes that he left over my place last week."

"And?"

"Nothing. But I was hoping we could use your Plumber's badge to find him?" Gwen looked hopeful.

Kevin reached for the dash and tapped his badge twice, and, noting the appearance of a small grid of the city, handed it to Gwen to double-check the map.

"Nothing. Damn thing's got a limit on how close we can be before it can sense another badge." Kevin frowned

"He's out of range…"

-----

Ben carefully pocketed the Null-Void projector, after having already opened a small portal into the extraterrestrial prison. He didn't set a timer on the worm hole, knowing that anyone, or anything, could just as easily find it's way back into his world this way. He had flown out to the docks, just to make sure.

When he skipped school, he wasn't planning on his teachers calling home to his mother, or his mother getting a hold of Gwen so soon. But, as he hid in the shadows just up the stairs, waiting patiently for her to leave for work, he calculated the small window between Gwen calling Kevin, and the both of them tracking him down, that he would have to make quick use of if he was to go alone. And he wanted to go alone.

It had been months since Ben had last seen his Gandpa Max, and, before he left the Null Void, he had promised to return…just in case.

The sound of worn tired screeching to a halt not far in the distance shook him from his reverie and he cursed his dumb luck. He turned when he heard raised voices.

Kevin.

Ben heaved a sigh, and, taking one last look back down the docks, stepped through the gateway, and into the Null Void.

-----

Kevin tore around a large stack of wooden crates and towards the piers, cursing vehemently and taking up a concrete coating as he did so.

"BEN!" he called, upon seeing the brunette step through what appeared to be a tear in the fabric of the natural universe. The portal was waning. Kevin made a dash for it.

He let loose the concrete coating on his legs and most of his upper body to speed up, save his arms; he might need those in the very near future.

"Kevin!"

Kevin wasn't slowing.

"Find Ben! I'll stay and find Verdona; she'll know what to do!" Gwen called, a bit helplessly, from the car.

Gwen watched as Kevin disappeared along with the Null Void portal, and flopped back into the passenger seat of the brute's car, closing and locking both doors. To call Verdona, there was no telling how long she would have to concentrate and meditate; twenty minutes and three hours were a hell of a difference in silence. There was also no telling when Kevin would be back, so she closed her eyes, focusing a small part of her energy around the car, to make sure that both her and it were kept safe until Kevin returned with Ben.

He would return.

He had to.

"Verdona, don't fail me now", were the last words that the green-eyed girl uttered before her eyes shone a neon pink and her visible reality slipped from her entirely.


	5. Bloodlines

**Notes: So...it's been a really long time, and, for that, I apologize. I've been moving and staying still and forgetting, until recently, how much I loved writing for this site. I've also found my OTP in the Naruverse, and have been working on a one shot for all of you Naruto/Gaara fans out there. As always, all reviews, comments, and suggestions are welcome. Let's get to it.**

**

* * *

**

Gwen had done this so many times since meeting her and Ben's long-lost alien Grandmother. But, even now, it scared her to death. It could be seconds, or minutes, or hours, or, in some cases, even days before she tracked Verdona down in the vast cosmos of space. She had hoped that the latter wasn't the case.

As she meditated there on the dock, her back perfectly poised, her lips moving of their own accord, muttering an incantation that she'd so easily memorized, her body slowly and ever-so slightly lifted off of the wooden planks. In the past, she made a note to always do this kind of thing in a location that she was certain was secure; private. If anyone were to wander by, she would have some explaining, or in the case of the first such time this had happened, memory erasing, to do. And she really didn't have the time for that…again.

The Tennyson Anodite scoured Verdona's home planet quickly, thankfully finding her Grandmother and mentor in her own home. It seemed like she was searching for someone as well.

"I've been looking for you!" the energy being smiled into Gwen's thoughts.

"Thank God-

"That being that you thank so often doesn't exist, dear." Verdona reminded her, as per usual.

"Right. Well, Ben and Kevin are in the Null V-

"Searching for your Grandfather, I understand. Well, their trials are not your own, darling. Why did you really contact me?"

Gwen cursed her mind for being so vulnerable recently, and for Verdona taking full advantage of the fact. Of course, her grandmother already knew what had been troubling her- she only let Gwen retell it as a way to vent her frustrations.

When she had finished Gwen felt, rather than heard, the Anodite let out a deep sigh, and something told the brunette that her Grandmother knew exactly what she had been going through…and that whatever it was, it wasn't about to let up.

"I apologize, dear, for not telling you sooner.. In my defense, most of our kind wait years after their full awakening to take on a mate. And, even then-

"What? Grandma, I don't understand- I haven't taken a- a mate. And what does any of that have to do with these visions?" Gwen was growing exasperated by her Grandmothers frequent assumption that she made any sense at all to the younger.

"Well, you're obviously in love, then, dearie, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. Please, let me explain. What you're seeing are the worst possible visions of the future of man. Of everything. It is a test of your will- of the strength needed to cope with the prospect of forever. Now, tell me, love, who is the lucky inferior whom you have deemed-

Gwen let out a noise somewhere between anger and tears.

"I'm not. I- I don't! This is-

"Insane? Of course it is, but so is the idea that you, someone so obviously special, should choose a mere human as your partner." At this Verdona giggled lightly, and, upon feeling her Granddaughters tears, stopped.

"Baby?"

"I can't, Verdona. You don't understand, but I can't. Not now."

* * *

The Null Void was a desolate, dark, and, most of all, isolated reality. Of course, Kevin knew this, having been placed in the interdimensional prison by none other than Ben Tennyson, years ago. But his prior knowledge of this place, like a virus, didn't stop the memories from flooding his mind with its poison.

He fought the urge to call out for the boy he followed, realizing that they were no longer alone, and frantically floated from one large asteroid to the next, hoping to catch a glimpse of the green leather jacket that Ben was so fond of. He had been a second too late; knowing that Ben had intended on entering the void alone, and that he was, most likely, hiding from him.

_Damn_

_Well, there's nothing left but to search for him…he's got the only way out of this place, after all._

* * *

Ben was moving fast and low, under the cover of the enormous meteor debris that seemed to litter this part of the Null Void. He was in no mood to run into any of the prisoners, most of whom he himself had sentenced to an eternity of nothingness, or, even more so, Kevin.

Kevin…

Why was it that the older boy seemed so intent on keeping him close? Ben couldn't recall a day or more recently that he had been without Kevin…and he kept having these strange dreams. If he didn't know better, he could swear he'd even heard Kevin call his name, somewhat distantly, in his sleep.

Ben just couldn't shake him. Couldn't shake his presence, or the thoughts or him, or that gruff, nagging, warning voice that usually accompanied thoughts of the muscle-bound boy. And, not that he was complaining, he loved Kevin to death, but it was starting to really irk him.

_It's not like we're dating…but, maybe we are. Maybe this is Kevin's idea of dating. It's not like we've even discussed-_

A sharp pain to the chest complemented Ben's inner turmoil. Caught off-guard, the Xenomorph quickly regained his footing and scanned the area for signs of other life. The Omnitrix was going crazy; small blips on it's radar made themselves known, and the hero found himself suddenly surrounded.

* * *

Kevin was breathing harder now, leaping from rock to rock, having long abandoned his previous plan of following without the risk of detection. He felt like…well he wasn't sure what he felt, but he knew that Ben was in trouble; he had, in the past, come to terms with his baffling 'Tennysense', as he'd affectionately dubbed it.

Ever since that first meeting in Manhattan all of those years ago, Kevin found that he could _feel _them in trouble. He smirked to himself. As strange as it had sounded in his own head all of those months ago, it did nothing for him to explain it to Gwen, who laughed, naturally.

"I'm serious, Gwen!" he was fuming, half standing, half crouched in the doorframe of the female Tennyson's room. When he'd come to press her for any answers that he'd thought she might've have, or been able to acquire, he wasn't planning on her flippant attitude towards the subject. "I know….I know…", she blurted between giggles.

Kevin's eyes narrowed to a dangerous degree, and Gwen suddenly found more amusement in something near her feet.

Kevin sighed then. He wasn't used to conveying emotions like worry and…fear, and Gwen was making him feel like a small child again; the confusion in finding out he was different, an outcast, all over again.

"It's like a sixth sense I have for the two of you. Sometimes, I even think I can feel your.. Heart beating. Both of them. And mine!"

At this, Gwen was reduced to her previous hysterics, all but falling over herself at the coal-eyed boys words.

"How very eloquent."

"Umph!" Kevin was caught unawares and knocked to the surface of a large obelisk. During the commotion, he managed to slip a hand in his pocket and grab hold of the small, titanium orb. He raised a quick elbow, effectively ridding his body of the extra weight of his attacker. As he turned, Kevin recognized a flash of green leather, closely followed by Ben's voice, as the younger boy collided with him again, wrapping his arms securely around his midsection.

"Ben?"

"Kev- I'm being followed- be careful!" The brunet wheezed.

"Well then, what are you holding onto me for? Go Hero- we can take em…"

It was then that the older boy noticed the gaping hole in his partners chest, and the blood that flowed so freely from it. Ben followed Kevin's eyes and winced, attempting a smirk.

"It's not as bad as it seems. The omnitrix is on the fritz again, and-

"No. Forget it, Benji; I came in here for you. Let's go. Now."

The tone in Kevin's voice left the smaller boy no room to argue. Ben sighed, and started to set up the Null Void Projector, stumbling into Kevin's waiting arms as he did so.

"Ben-

"Cover us; I can do this myself!" Ben whined and began to reverse the dials on the small, metal box. Kevin did as he was told, taking up his fighting stance, eyes dancing every-which-way.

"Got it!" Ben cried in triumph, gasping when he felt Kevin lift him off of his feet and carry him, running, through the portal back home.


End file.
